The Normandy Campaign

The Normandy CampaignJune - August 1944

Module objective: Guided by both research and inquiry-based questions, students will examine the historiography of the Normandy campaign, exploring the historical perspectives on this campaign and continuity and change in the Normandy narratives over time.

Intended audience: Grades 10-12

Prior knowledge required: General Knowledge of the Second World War; Dieppe; Any First World War module

Problem overview

“D-Day” 6 June 1944 may be the most historically recognizable date in the Second World War in the Western world, including in Canada. Historians generally agree that Allied international efforts to coordinate the massive sea, air and land invasion of France on 6 June 1944 marked a spectacular achievement and a culmination point of years of planning and secret preparations. The dramatic D-day story dominates popular history, culture, and film-making about the war. However, 6 June 1944 also marked the first of a 78 day-long Battle for Normandy. Historians are greatly divided about what happened in the 77 days after D-Day. Some argue that the Anglo-Canadian stalemate at Caen and the battle of attrition which developed were evidence of superior German fighting skill and the general incompetence of the Anglo-Canadian armies, including their generals. The apparent “slowness” to encircle defeated German armies in the infamous Falaise Pocket is seen by some as further evidence of this incompetence. If only the Allies were better soldiers, if only their generals were better, if only the Germans were not so good, maybe the war could have been ended in 1944. ​Other historians argue that the Allies fought a skillful and effective, if not always perfect, campaign in Normandy during the summer of 1944. What evidence led to these perspectives, and how did they shape the narratives about the Canadians in Normandy, and in the war more broadly?

Problem background

The Normandy Campaign in the summer of 1944 was the culmination of the war in the west. On D-Day five seaborne (one Canadian) and three airborne divisions landed, with supporting troops, along the Normandy coast between the Orne River in the east and the Vire River in the west. The initial landings were an overwhelming success. Despite a near-disaster on the American “Omaha” beach, the Allies got ashore with fewer losses than feared. The 3rd Canadian Division, landing on JUNO beach, defeated the German attempts to destroy the landings by a massive armoured assault. Deception operations in the Dover area kept German divisions away from Normandy and drew several armoured divisions north. ​In June the Americans made steady progress through the Bocage country west of Bayeux and captured Cherbourg. Meanwhile, German armoured divisions fought against British and Canadian troops in the open fields around Caen in a grinding and historically controversial battle of attrition. The situation changed on 25 July 1944. The First Canadian Army attacked south of Caen in Operation Spring to hold German armour in place, while a massive American offensive, code-named Operation Cobra was launched west of St Lo. Cobra was a stunning success, and by early August the Americans were racing deep into France. Meanwhile, British and Canadian Armies pushed hard against the Germans south of Caen and Caumont. ​Because the Germans declined to retreat in front of the Canadians and British, in early August it was decided to turn American forces northward to link up and encircle the German army in Normandy. When the Germans finally ordered a retreat on 17 August, it turned into a catastrophic rout. An encirclement was completed when First Canadian Army and Third US Armies closed the “Falaise Gap” on 22 August. The German army in the west was virtually destroyed and it looked – briefly – like the war would end in 1944.

Canada’s roleCanada played an important part in the Normandy campaign. Ever since the British had been thrown out of France in 1940 everyone understood that Germany could only be defeated by sending troops back to France and defeating the German army. The Canadian army in Britain kept that dream alive from 1940 to 1943, playing the role of a “Dagger Pointed at Berlin.” In the fall of 1943 Operation Overlord was planned as an American-Canadian operation, with the British army following later.By early 1944 half of the First Canadian Army was fighting in Italy and the great powers of Britain and the United States had taken charge of the landings in France. Nonetheless, the rump of the First Canadian Army deployed in the Dover area played a key role in the deception operations that kept German divisions away from Normandy.

The Canadian Army played a key role in the campaign. 3rd Canadian Division landed at JUNO beach and defeated attempts by the Germans to crush the whole Allied assault with armoured visions. The first group of fighter aircraft to deploy to Normandy in support of the Anglo-Canadians was RCAF. 3rd Canadian Division took most of Caen in early July. It was then joined by 2nd Canadian Division, II Canadian Corps HQ and First Canadian Army headquarters which assumed command of the eastern flank of the Normandy campaign. This army pushed south of Caen in late July and August, and was responsible for closing of the Falaise Gap. Canada’s part of the story lays at the centre of the debate over Allied military effectiveness in Normandy. For decades historians have contested the merits of Canada’s citizen-soldier army. Historians generally agree that the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944 were a tremendous international achievement. Historians are deeply divided over whether the rest of the 78 –day long Battle for Normandy was an Allied success or fumble that prolonged the war.

Key questions and debates

The two student activities in this module are designed to address the key questions and debates surrounding the topic, and are framed by the guideposts to historical thinking for each of the historical thinking concepts ​addressed in the module. Activities are intended to be completed in order. Please click below to see an activity overview, guiding questions, and additional topics/questions the teacher may introduce.

​Students will create posters to illustrate the different arguments for the significance of D-Day within the Normandy Campaign.

Culminating activity/assessment

To demonstrate understanding, students will consider the following questions:

What questions should be asked about the Normandy Campaign by your generation?

What place should D-Day hold in the narrative of the Normandy campaign?

In small groups, students will write two new entries for the Normandy Campaign: one for a high school textbook, and one for the Juno Beach Centre website. Students will then annotate their entries, justifying why they wrote them the way they did.

Students demonstrating sophisticated thinking will be able to express that histories are written for specific purposes, for specific audiences. Students should also be able to demonstrate understanding that the way in which these histories are written – the conventions used, evidence included or excluded – will change depending on the audience and purpose.